Silly Bride

Chapter 286

bit of a rush to go back to Chanaea now.”“Are you going back to Avenport so soon? It doesn’t seem like you’ve been here for long,” said Nathaniel, a hint of disappointment evident in his tone.He had already seen the news about their supposed engagement and also read the Speiser family’s response to it.Truth be told, Nathaniel was delighted to see Wilhelm deny the fact that Winnie had ever married Xavier.I thought this would be my chance, but I didn’t expect her to go back so soon. Besides, judging by her behavior, it doesn’t seem like she knows what has been going on in the outside world ever since she came here.After pondering for a while, Nathaniel asked, “Winnie, is the reception bad up there? Have you contacted anybody in the outside world recently?”“The reception is pretty bad in the mountain. What is it? Did something happen? Does it involve me?”The woman was simply too sharp, so Nathaniel could only flash her a wry smile and come clean about the situation. “All right. Since it seems you’re truly unaware, I think we need to find a place to sit and talk.”“Sure.”“Give me your backpack. It must be heavy, right? I’ll carry it for you.”Eyeing the nearby tables, Winnie once again declined the man, “No need. It’s only a couple of steps away.”“All right.” Nathaniel had no choice but to retract his hand and let her be.Alas, he couldn’t help worrying it was too strenuous for Winnie, so he took the initiative to reach his hand out and lift her backpack up.The entire scene was coincidentally captured by a bespectacled man standing in a corner of the motel.Unfortunately for him, however, his flash was on, and both Winnie and Nathaniel immediately noticed him.The two exchanged glances with one another and furrowed their brows.Nathaniel instantly said to Winnie, “Why don’t you take a seat over there? I’ll go and see what’s going on.”“No, I’ll go with you,” Winnie refused as she glanced at the man who was taking pictures of them in secret.Much to Nathaniel’s and Winnie’s surprise, the man strode toward them instead of waiting for them to approach him.He wasn’t sneaking around like they were expecting and openly passed them his business card.“Nice to meet you guys. I’m a journalist from ABC News. I came here on a holiday, but I didn’t expect to bump into you two. May I have the honor of interviewing you guys? I can assure you it won’t take up too much of your time,” said the man.Winnie furrowed her brows as she mulled over the man’s words. “Thank you for your interest, but why are you interviewing us if you’re on a holiday?”It’d be more believable if he said he was conducting street interviews at the foot of Mount Albeise and coincidentally saw us. On the other hand, this situation is just too strange.“You see, Ms. Vivian…” Since Winnie didn’t outright reject him, the bespectacled journalist even pulled out his handy dandy recording pen.He then began to explain, “Previously, other journalists reported that the Speiser family is interested in arranging a marriage with the Huxley family. They said that you and Mr. Nathaniel are preparing for your engagement. We’ve asked for clarification, but we weren’t able to get any reliable information. I didn’t expect to bump into you and Mr. Nathaniel here at all. Are you two really dating? When are you two planning to get engaged or perhaps get married?”Confusion was plastered all over Winnie’s face when she heard the journalist’s words. She even lowered her gaze to look at the name that was printed on the business card.In a polite tone, she queried, “What are you talking about, Mr. Graham? What arranged marriage? What engagement? Why don’t I know anything about this?”The journalist felt rather speechless for a moment and chuckled in response. “How can you not know about this, Ms. Vivian? Look, I even took a picture of you and Mr. Nathaniel.”A crease appeared between Winnie’s brows as she looked over at Nathaniel. “What’s going on?”Just as Nathaniel was about to speak, the journalist piped up first, “Ms. Vivian, if you’re unwilling to answer that question, why don’t I ask you another one? Is it true that you married a Chanaean man? Is the marriage between you two legal?” Looking at the unrelenting man in front of her, Winnie said in a stern voice, “I’m sorry, Mr. Graham, but until I figure out exactly what’s going on, I will not be answering any of your questions.”“Why?” The journalist attempted to probe further. “Is it that hard to answer a couple of questions? Could it be that Wilhelm Speiser is lying?”At that, Winnie’s frown grew deeper. “What does this have to do with Wilhelm?”“Mr. Wilhelm publicly denied the fact that you were ever married in Chanaea. He also said that you have the freedom of marriage. There are people who are speculating that you two are doing this for your upcoming marriage into the Huxley family. Do you have any comments? Or perhaps you’d like to set the facts straight?”Winnie truly didn’t know what had happened while she was gone, but the journalist kept hounding her, and his questions were deliberately phrased in a way that was leading her to answer in a certain manner.It wasn’t an interview but rather a scheme to lure her into acknowledging matters she hadn’t even heard of, and Winnie did not like this feeling at all.Having had enough of the journalist’s unscrupulous behavior, Winnie scolded, “Please abide by your professional ethics, Mr. Graham. I didn’t agree to your interview, nor did I answer any of your questions. Please stop your baseless assumptions and speculations!”At that, Nathaniel took a step forward to put some space between Winnie and the journalist. “I believe it’s time for you to leave, Mr. Graham. Otherwise, I’ll call the police.”The argument between the three of them had caught the attention of the motel’s receptionist, and she was already holding onto the phone at the front desk.As soon as Nathaniel gave her the order, she would immediately call the police.It was then the journalist finally realized he had been too hasty and had almost angered the two people in front of him.He immediately apologized to Winnie, but Winnie did not accept it. Not only did she ask him to leave, but she also made him delete the picture he had taken of them.After the journalist left, Winnie instantly found a table in the restaurant to sit at.“Tell me.” She looked at the man sitting in front of her with a stern gaze. “What the h*ll is going on?”Nathaniel strung his words together and explained everything that had happened thus far.When she heard everything, Winnie couldn’t help but scoff. “As expected, it’s Helen.”Nathaniel was surprised by her response. “Judging by your reaction, did you already know she’d do this?”“No, of course not,” said Winnie. “But I’m not surprised by the fact that she was the one who started it. Wilhelm must’ve gotten on her bad side. Still, I didn’t expect she’d come up with such a story. It’s completely absurd! Does she intend to take revenge on my brother like this? By attacking us with a baseless rumor?”Smiling sheepishly, Nathaniel chimed in, “It… isn’t entirely baseless.”Winnie looked at the man, confused. “What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’re the one who leaked the news?”After that, she did not hesitate to make her opinion on the matter clear. “My beloved business partner, Nathaniel Huxley, I’ve told you that I prefer Chanaean men. Plus, you already know that I married Xavier in Chanaea. He’s my lover.”“Oh, my dear Ms. Vivian, of course, I know.” Nathaniel smiled, masking the hint of disappointment in his expression. After a brief pause, he added, “I must say you’ve misunderstood me as I didn’t leak any information at all. The truth is, our families did try to hook us up in the past. My mother always knew that I wanted an Aplothian woman as my soulmate, but back then, I didn’t know you were the Speiser family’s adopted daughter, nor did I know you were my collaborator, Ms. Gator, so I rejected my mother’s suggestion without hesitation. Hence, Helen’s story isn’t completely baseless.”Winnie’s brows furrowed. “I didn’t know any of that.”“I know. It’s probably because I refused to meet you, so your family didn’t tell you about it.”“That’s possible.” Winnie nodded.Then, she said to Nathaniel earnestly, “I apologize for misunderstanding you earlier. I hope you can forgive me.”“No worries, but…” The man pondered for a moment before saying, “The news has already spread to a global scale, and